Feb 21, 2012

In January 2012, the Centre for Development and Environment based in at the University of Bern in Switzerland issued a report that highlights how, in advance of the Rio+20 summit, there are different viewpoints between developed and developing countries on the definition of "green economy."

According to this report, one of the main differences is that developing countries "can only build a green economy by adopting profound policy reforms to transform small-scale agriculture." This type of agriculture provides livelihoods for billions globally and it is being challenged to meet increasing food and fuel demands. Some of the policy reforms that need to be addressed are:

land degradation

water scarcity

climate change issues such as floods and drought

The report argues that the free-market will not address the reforms needed therefore there must be policies set in place that ensure:

small-scale agriculture continues to generate jobs

productivity is increased without substantial consumption of fossil fuels